On 22 July, delegations of the Ministries of Agriculture of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey in Ankara held a trilateral meeting, reported azernews. The parties discussed the current state and future prospects of cooperation in various fields of agriculture. During the meeting, the work done on protection and development of small and medium-sized farms in all three countries was discussed. The sides agreed to carry out joint research to further develop small and medium-sized farms in the future, and jointly use successful experience gained in each country in this area.
The three countries harbor close economic ties with the trilateral business forums taking place more than once per year since 2012. The three states enjoy an especially fruitful cooperation in the energy sector with the The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) crude oil pipeline project, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) natural gas pipeline project, the Trans Anatolian Pipeline Project (TANAP), and the Trans Adriatic Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TAP).
Every year, economic and trade relations between the three countries diversify and cover new areas. Last year the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey amounted to $3.4 billion. Azerbaijan imported almost $1.6 billion in goods from Turkey, while exports to Turkey reached $1.8 billion. At the same time, the trade between Georgia and Azerbaijan reached $1.1 billion in 2018. Georgian exports to Azerbaijan amounted to $502.7 million, while Azerbaijan exported goods worth $586 million to Georgia. The trade turnover between Georgia and Turkey amounted to $1.7 billion, with Turkey exporting goods to Georgia worth $1.4 billion and imports $240 million.
All three countries struggle in the sphere of SME development. In Azerbaijan SMEs account for over 80% of all registered companies, but only contribute around 3% to the country’s economy, in Georgia they account for over 40% of employment, but are still struggling to scale up their operations, and in Turkey they employ 73,5% of the total population but are still far behind European standards. The development of small- and medium sized enterprises in the agricultural sector in the South Caucasus is prioritized by the European Union as well. Georgia, for example, receives EU assistance through the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD- Caucasus Watch reported), while in Azerbaijan the EU and the United Nations Development Programme work together on the family business support unit known as ABAD which main goal is to support Azerbaijani families with the formation of their family business.
